Stand In The Rain

Veranis blinked as Yuyuko came back, then couldn't help but smile. "I see you have everything..handled. I guess I wasn't needed at all after all." She was going to say more when she saw Max.

Instantly she went over, noticing he was dragging to help him if need be. He didn't look good. "Max, take it easy. What happened?" Did she need to teleport him to a hospital? It looked very severe.

Max knew what he had to do and was ready to take the consequences that came with it. He thumbed the hammer on the revolver and as he rounded the corner he saw... Yuyuko and Veranis. He wasn't even gone five minutes,

When Veranis came up to him his skin looked pale with a slight yellowish tint. His lips were red from the blood and there was still a little line of it at the corner of his mouth. He looked from Yuyuko to Veranis. Then back to Yuyuko, He tried to speak but his voice was thin and raspy "I'm here to save you." He said and legs were done. He slumped down leaning against the wall. He tried to wipe the rest of the blood off his mouth but his hand was still covered in it.

He coughed a little. He was really tired.

All of Yuyuko's happiness drained from her, and she rushed to Max's side. "Max! Oh my god... Max what did... oh, you idiot! You worked yourself up over this, didn't you! I told you to... dammit! Veranis, we need to get him to a hospital, now! I'm not sure how severe this is, but I don't want to risk it." She pulled Max closer to herself, holding him tight, and whispered in his ear. "Idiot... he never touched me... I made him tell me where Miki is while I had him by the balls... literally.... you worried yourself over nothing... you're such a sweet idiot..."

Veranis didn't waste anytime, going to support Max. She concentrated, forming the destination within her mind, and the next moment they vanished in a flash of fire. When they came to, they seemed to be in a hospital of some sort, a few people were startled slightly by three people suddenly appearing.

"He needs attention now! Give me a generalist healer."

It only took a moment, the medical staff quickly complied and hurriedly got Max to one of the rooms. Inside of them was a winged woman, dressed in a nurse uniform came over to where Max was as he was set down. She seemed to be checking something real quick before she made up her mind.

A hand was placed over Max's heart and lungs, a soft glowing white light engulfed his body. Max would feel a pleasant and soothing warmth as the woman did her work, and his breathing slowly, but steadily getting better. There was nothing she could do about the long term damage, but they could at least get them stabilized again.

Around them, it was noted the place seemed a bit more advance then a normal hospital and the layout was different.

Probably because they were on Nobus turf.

When Max opened his eyes, everything was a blur. Nothing would come into focus. There was someone standing over him. He could feel their hands on him. He tried to focus and when his eyes started to work a little he saw angel standing over him. Then his body felt warm and he was at peace. He nodded and closed his eyes. Soon the pain in his chest went away and he knew it was time. Time to sleep. Time to rest. His eyes fluttered closed.

Yuyuko took a seat next to Max's bed, and stayed there, resting her head in her hands. "I can't stand this..." She felt guilty over this situation. On top of that, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to get to her daughter. And... the Demon King? All she'd heard about the Demon King was that they were a centuries old demon of immense power, who lived in the Demon Realm. She needed to learn more, but didn't know how. First though, she had to make sure Max was okay.

Veranis gently rubbed Yuyuko on the back, but said nothing. She merely watched a bit. They might be told to leave later, maybe but now they would have to wait.

(Feel free to time snap to him waking up if you want)

Some time later Max's eyes twitched and he mumbled something. He was dreaming. Then his eyes fluttered open. He looked around. He wasn't dead. In fact he hasn't felt this good in months. He looked to Yuyuko "I'm still here." He said as he sat up. Looking to Veranis "Thanks." He leaned back. Lifting the covers and put them back down. "Where are my pants?" he shook his head. "Never mind. Look Yuyuko, i'm really sorry about this. It's all my fault. I should have read the situation better I should have... well let's face it I was a little... blinded back there and I'm sorry."

Yuyuko sighed. "Max, I can be pretty convincing when I want to be. I had to make it seem that I really was going to go through with it, or he would have picked up on it. If I'd known before what he was going to do, then I would have been able to come up with my little plan earlier, and then have been able to warn you. As is, I'm sorry for worrying you." She paused, then pulled out the flash drive. "His business transactions. I know there's some illegal ones here, so he'll be going to jail. And... and I know where Miki is..."

"It's not a problem. As for your pants.." Veranis let the question trail off as she actually walked away a bit, moments later coming back with them and giving them to Max. "If you need any help getting to where your daughter is Yuyuko, just ask and I'll do the best I can."

Speaking of that, there was something else she'd have to ask Max. There was some severe problems that had checked out after doing a scan, it didn't seem he had to live. However, there was a few options she could think of to stop it. Since it was Max's life, it would be up to him which to choose.

He looked to Veranis "Thank you." He said and looked back to Yuyuko "Where is she?" He shoved the pants under the blanket and scooted into them. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.

Yuyuko glanced to the side. "THe Demon Realm. According to Garus, she's living in the Demon King's palace... as the Demon King, somehow. He said she's been turned into a demon. And... I believe him. I literally had him by the balls at the time..."

Veranis listened to this quietly, then weighed in, noticing Yuyuko's look. "I can safely say there's a lot of misconceptions of that place for people who haven't been there before. I have. It's actually a decent place to live, there's humans that live there as well, among other races." She paused. "There are some places a bit more dangerous then others, but that's a given to just about everywhere. Either way, I can take you there when ready. I personally would rather escort you two anyway just in case. Phoenix Demons take the protection of their charges among other things very seriosuly. Or..rather what's left of us anyway.."

Max thought about it for while. "Well, I guess we don't have much of a choice. Lemme get discharged and back to my office for a change of clothes and a shower." He looked around again. "Where the hell are we?"

Yuyuko paused at that, then turned to Veranis. "Um... yes, where are we? This place doesn't look like a normal hospital. Is it a Nobus hospital?"

Veranis smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, it is. A lot of officers get hurt in the line of duty and need specialized treatment at times. When I said 'Generalist Healers' it means all around healers. For normal doctors and nurses, it can be a nightmare at times. While thankfully must humanoids are similar enough to cross reference, there's differences if not noted could be..dangerous."

She looked to Max again. "They found something's during the scans, but its safe to say you already know. My point is, I might be able to help you but its your choice. There's two options at the moment. One, I could see about getting something done for you if you visit Alus. I'm unsure how long that would take altogether. Two, I give you a small dose of my blood. We'll, more accurately I do so for the doctors. They would handle the rest, process it down and effectively give you some. It would heal the long term damage. Third option is if we find a healer strong enough to heal long term damage, but that's easier said then done."

Veranis paused for a moment, then continued. "I believe part of the reason there aren't as many of my kind anymore. Our blood, among other things have special properties. You can imagine where I'm going with it. There's one downside, depending on your point of view for that. It may make you half or full of the race I am. You'd probably want to remain as you are. The fact I'm telling you this and offering, is a sign of trust. And though we don't know each other well, my heart says I can trust you. My instincts haven't failed me before..so I won't steer from them now.."

Max cracked a smile. Something he rarely does. Though he's been doing it more and more since he met Yuyuko. He looked to Venaris "I can't in good conscience accept your blood. Even if graciously offered. Though I do thank you for said offer. As for the other options, I'll add them to the list. My first priority is getting Miki back." He pulled off the blankets and hopped on the floor. "Ooo..." He twitched a little. "Well, it's one thing all hospitals have in common... Cold floors." He looked around. "I'm gonna need my discharge papers. Where's the Doc?"

Yuyuko moved to his side, in case he needed support. "Max, you helped me find out where she is, that's enough for now. You should focus on yourself..."

After getting the discharged papers, among other things, Veranis teleported the lot of them back to Max's place so he could get himself situated. That and talk about what they were going to do next, but she did agree Max needed a small break after what they had done. Miki was safe and she wasn't going anywhere. After all, it wasn't as if there was many who could pose a threat to the Demon King, if the stories of their power was to be believed.

As soon as they got back to his office Max headed to the bathroom and took care of himself. After about a half hour he came out of the bathroom. He still didn't shave and his hair was still unkempt but he looked better. Color had returned to his skin. His eyes looked more alert than before.

He walked over to his desk and pulled out a bottle of cough syrup, a pack of cigarettes, ammo for his guns, a few extra magazines and speed loaders. He sat down and started working on his weapons. "Okay so what's the plan?" He asked as he lit up a cigarette. He didn't smoke it, he just set it in his ashtray.

Yuyuko blinked. "I... I'm not sure. I don't know anything about the Demon Realm, and even less about what Miki has apparently become, the Demon King.... Demon King Miki... hard to wrap my head around..."

"I can't imagine what's going on in your head..and never having a daughter or even a sister its hard for me to relate."

Veranis paused, mulling things over before continuing. "Getting to the Demon Realm won't be hard, I'd have to teleport you two there. It would be getting a audience with Miki that might be the harder part. As powerful as she is, they aren't just going to get lazy about security. There's still important people around there after all, some which are naturally much more vulnerable. Our best best is to request to meet her in person, but I'm not sure about being so straight forward..Claiming to be Miki's mother so soon may not be the best idea. In the mean time, why don't I treat you two out to eat before we go? When you're both ready to about leave, that is."

Max nodded "I could eat. I don't know how long I was out." He looked to Yuyuko, "Hey we could talk to a lawyer about that flash drive. Maybe something could be done about that ass wad while we're gone."

Yuyuko smiled, nodded. "Yeah. Probably for the best. I'm ready for whatever, I'm just... so happy. I'm finally going to see my daughter again.... and alive..."

Veranis nodded and stood up. "There's a place I saw we could get a quick bite to eat at then. I'll lead." She could get something herself, and the hospital food wasn't exactly the best when it came to taste; Nobus or not.

It was a small restaurant they entered, it seemed family ran. Veranis noted there wasn't a huge amount of customers but the place at least seemed pretty well put together and clean at least. She headed to the front desk so she could order something, but she wasn't sure what to get.

Behind the counter the young man smiled. "What can I get for you today?"

Veranis was about to open her mouth when a voice from the back came.

"No, no. We're not serving her kind here." It was a grough voice, a man came out in his late fifites from the looks of it, apron stained with cooking. His face was in a scowl and his coal black eyes shifted from the others but focused on Veranis.

The young employee frowned. He was worried his boss would finally snap, he had never really been right in the head when he had been in the army and they had that invasion of the Abyss many years ago.

Looks like it was the straw that broke the camels back.

"Aito, I don't-"

He was cut off. "You don't know better." He glared at Veranis. "It's bad enough your kind's been swimming around here but even in my store? I've dealt enough with you bastards back in the Abyss War, you're all the same. You damned demons are everywhere! I can't as much go outside without feeling one of your kind somewhere around. Get the fuck out of my store and don't come back or I'll call the cops!"